Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
4:18:01
That's it 4:18:01 my time for finishing the 2009 Boston Marathon. I did not think that a time would be important, I felt that just finishing would be the end all be all. But they keep time for a reason and that is how we are measured when we run. So that is me 4:18:01.
Now a recap of what I remember from 4 hours that seemed to take forever, but also seemed to go by in the blink of an eye.
I woke up at 5:00am after not really sleeping much. With all the nervous anticipation
I was surprised that I slept at all. I went and met DFMC teammates,Amy Troncoso, Maria Baker, and Nicole Parker for a ride out to Hopkinton. This went as smooth as you could ask for and we were in Hopkinton by 6:45am. We were dropped off right at Church St. and had less than 200yd walk to the DFMC refuge. We got into the parish center right at 7:00am and set up shop. Even though we had 3.5 hours to start it was nice to have the time to sit and relax with the DFMC team, the people that were about to make the same journey that I was. My cousin John Hunt another DFMC teammate showed up about 8:15 and had a good story about the bus ride from Boston. 9:10 we had the team photo in front of the church. One last check to make sure I had on the right gear and I finally packed my bag and placed it in the bus.
Started stretching and after 2 porta potty stops it was 10:15 and we started to walk down to the corrals. We got into the coral around 10:25 and at 10:30 we started to walk to the starting line. As I walked toward the starting line I just took a deep breath and I felt as long as I took it slow to start then I would be all right. As I crossed the starting line the DFMC trainer Jack Fultz got me off on the right foot with a shout out from the starters podium, and we were off. Down a small hill and onto the marathon course. I tried to keep my mind off of the fact that there were 26 miles to go. I was going to take the run as 26 one mile runs.
The first sight that I saw was a bar on the right side of the road just as we entered Ashland, the music was loud, the beer was already flowing and the crowd was cheering everyone on. That was theme all along the route. I felt good and was keeping a good pace as we started to put the miles behind us. The next sight was the Weavers (the founders of the Claudia Adams Barr Foundation) they were at the train station in Framingham. I went over and gave them a hug and a handshake as I went along my way. Then I came along quite a sight, 2 men dressed as cheerleaders cheering all the runners along. Again the beers were flowing early Monday morning.
Next at mile 12 came along the wall of scream, the Wellesley College girls. It was deafening and all the kiss me I'm a senior, and Hug me I'm a first year signs were too tempting to pass up so I had to stop and get a few pecks on the cheek and give a few also (Jack said we should experience everything we could). the cheering is a huge pick me up as you are running along and the crowds were just great. I came upon DFMC teammate Maria Baker and ran the next few miles with her which was great as I had someone to talk with as we were coming upon the Newton hills. As we came to the first hill, the incline that takes you over Rt. 128 I knew that the DFMC cheering section was coming up and I could not wait to get there and see my family. As I approached mile 17 I heard the calls of my family and I pulled over so I could get a hug and a kiss from my boys Hunter and Colin and my wife Karen. That was just what I needed as I took off for the hills on Commonwealth Ave.
I took the turn at the Newton fire station and started the grueling climb up the 2nd of the 4 hills. I put my head down and did not look up and before I knew it I was up and over the hill. Now it was on to Newton Town Hall and the next hill. I had run this part of the course many times and felt that if there was going to be a place to walk on the course this is where I would have to walk. But as I was running the thought of what my beautiful wife had gone through just a year ago, the diagnosis of breast cancer, the surgery, the chemo, and pain she had to go through just made me feel that there was no way that I could walk. She was my inspiration to just keep on going. So onward up the next hill after the Johnny Kelley statue I went. The crowd cheering and the thought of my wife carrying me forward. Now here is where I guess maybe I hit the the wall that is so talked about because I remember losing count of the hills and thought I had already run up Heartbreak hill. Until I saw the block of stores that leads up to the bottom of the hill, so once I had my wits back I realized there was no way that I wasn't running up that hill. So once again I put my head down and without looking up I chugged up that infamous hill and once again before I knew it I was up and over the hill and looking at 5.2 miles left.
Down through Cleveland Circle and Coolidge Corner I ran with my quads and hamstrings starting to tighten up. A woman to my left had both her legs lock up on her and she fell to the pavement. Myself and another runner stopped to offer assistance but she just wanted to get up and try to finish, I don't know if she did as a police officer on the scene was getting her help. So along I went my hamstrings grabbing every few strides. I stopped and stretched out my hamstrings, and then picked right back up. As I came over the bridge into Kenmore square there was the 2nd DFMC cheering section and Jack and Jan and all the others were cheering the runners on. After passing the DFMC section I came upon another cheering section of mine. About 15 Medford Firefighters were on the side and as I went over to acknowledge them they almost pulled me into the crowd(again beers flowing early). But they got me moving for the longest mile of my life. I got through Kenmore square and under the Mass. Ave bridge, a right onto Hereford St. and up to Boylston St. where again my family met me. After a hug and a kiss from my wife my 2 boys lept over the barrier and ran the last few hundred yards over the finish line with me. The running was over and I had finished 4:18:01.
The number 04:18:01 is respectable but it is not the number that is important to me, it is not the reason that I ran 26.2 miles. The number that I trained 6 months and ran 26.2 miles for is $4,500,000.00. That is the number that we as a team are hoping to raise. So that hopefully no one else will have to train 6 months and run 26.2 miles to eliminate cancer. My hope is that will be accomplished sooner rather than later.
I want to thank everyone associated with the DFMC team for a great experience.
Fundraising is still going on and I would like to thank, Peter Bove, Billerica Popwarner Football, Joe Riley, The Iovanna Family and Sandra and Tom Gracia for their donations. as it stands right now my team has raised $25,375.00. Thank You All.
Now a recap of what I remember from 4 hours that seemed to take forever, but also seemed to go by in the blink of an eye.
I woke up at 5:00am after not really sleeping much. With all the nervous anticipation
I was surprised that I slept at all. I went and met DFMC teammates,Amy Troncoso, Maria Baker, and Nicole Parker for a ride out to Hopkinton. This went as smooth as you could ask for and we were in Hopkinton by 6:45am. We were dropped off right at Church St. and had less than 200yd walk to the DFMC refuge. We got into the parish center right at 7:00am and set up shop. Even though we had 3.5 hours to start it was nice to have the time to sit and relax with the DFMC team, the people that were about to make the same journey that I was. My cousin John Hunt another DFMC teammate showed up about 8:15 and had a good story about the bus ride from Boston. 9:10 we had the team photo in front of the church. One last check to make sure I had on the right gear and I finally packed my bag and placed it in the bus.
Started stretching and after 2 porta potty stops it was 10:15 and we started to walk down to the corrals. We got into the coral around 10:25 and at 10:30 we started to walk to the starting line. As I walked toward the starting line I just took a deep breath and I felt as long as I took it slow to start then I would be all right. As I crossed the starting line the DFMC trainer Jack Fultz got me off on the right foot with a shout out from the starters podium, and we were off. Down a small hill and onto the marathon course. I tried to keep my mind off of the fact that there were 26 miles to go. I was going to take the run as 26 one mile runs.
The first sight that I saw was a bar on the right side of the road just as we entered Ashland, the music was loud, the beer was already flowing and the crowd was cheering everyone on. That was theme all along the route. I felt good and was keeping a good pace as we started to put the miles behind us. The next sight was the Weavers (the founders of the Claudia Adams Barr Foundation) they were at the train station in Framingham. I went over and gave them a hug and a handshake as I went along my way. Then I came along quite a sight, 2 men dressed as cheerleaders cheering all the runners along. Again the beers were flowing early Monday morning.
Next at mile 12 came along the wall of scream, the Wellesley College girls. It was deafening and all the kiss me I'm a senior, and Hug me I'm a first year signs were too tempting to pass up so I had to stop and get a few pecks on the cheek and give a few also (Jack said we should experience everything we could). the cheering is a huge pick me up as you are running along and the crowds were just great. I came upon DFMC teammate Maria Baker and ran the next few miles with her which was great as I had someone to talk with as we were coming upon the Newton hills. As we came to the first hill, the incline that takes you over Rt. 128 I knew that the DFMC cheering section was coming up and I could not wait to get there and see my family. As I approached mile 17 I heard the calls of my family and I pulled over so I could get a hug and a kiss from my boys Hunter and Colin and my wife Karen. That was just what I needed as I took off for the hills on Commonwealth Ave.
I took the turn at the Newton fire station and started the grueling climb up the 2nd of the 4 hills. I put my head down and did not look up and before I knew it I was up and over the hill. Now it was on to Newton Town Hall and the next hill. I had run this part of the course many times and felt that if there was going to be a place to walk on the course this is where I would have to walk. But as I was running the thought of what my beautiful wife had gone through just a year ago, the diagnosis of breast cancer, the surgery, the chemo, and pain she had to go through just made me feel that there was no way that I could walk. She was my inspiration to just keep on going. So onward up the next hill after the Johnny Kelley statue I went. The crowd cheering and the thought of my wife carrying me forward. Now here is where I guess maybe I hit the the wall that is so talked about because I remember losing count of the hills and thought I had already run up Heartbreak hill. Until I saw the block of stores that leads up to the bottom of the hill, so once I had my wits back I realized there was no way that I wasn't running up that hill. So once again I put my head down and without looking up I chugged up that infamous hill and once again before I knew it I was up and over the hill and looking at 5.2 miles left.
Down through Cleveland Circle and Coolidge Corner I ran with my quads and hamstrings starting to tighten up. A woman to my left had both her legs lock up on her and she fell to the pavement. Myself and another runner stopped to offer assistance but she just wanted to get up and try to finish, I don't know if she did as a police officer on the scene was getting her help. So along I went my hamstrings grabbing every few strides. I stopped and stretched out my hamstrings, and then picked right back up. As I came over the bridge into Kenmore square there was the 2nd DFMC cheering section and Jack and Jan and all the others were cheering the runners on. After passing the DFMC section I came upon another cheering section of mine. About 15 Medford Firefighters were on the side and as I went over to acknowledge them they almost pulled me into the crowd(again beers flowing early). But they got me moving for the longest mile of my life. I got through Kenmore square and under the Mass. Ave bridge, a right onto Hereford St. and up to Boylston St. where again my family met me. After a hug and a kiss from my wife my 2 boys lept over the barrier and ran the last few hundred yards over the finish line with me. The running was over and I had finished 4:18:01.
The number 04:18:01 is respectable but it is not the number that is important to me, it is not the reason that I ran 26.2 miles. The number that I trained 6 months and ran 26.2 miles for is $4,500,000.00. That is the number that we as a team are hoping to raise. So that hopefully no one else will have to train 6 months and run 26.2 miles to eliminate cancer. My hope is that will be accomplished sooner rather than later.
I want to thank everyone associated with the DFMC team for a great experience.
Fundraising is still going on and I would like to thank, Peter Bove, Billerica Popwarner Football, Joe Riley, The Iovanna Family and Sandra and Tom Gracia for their donations. as it stands right now my team has raised $25,375.00. Thank You All.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Week 24
This week has been a good week of running and getting ready for what lies ahead. I had runs of 9.5, 8 and 8 miles for a total of 25.5 miles this week. Pretty much pain free. Only a few more short runs are left before the big day arrives. Also on the training front I had a wonderful dinner at DFMC teammate Amy Troncosos house on Friday, other DFMC teammates that were there included Nicole Parker, Maria Baker and Jeff Tassi. We had a delicious meal and watched some very interesting marathon DVD's. It was great spending time with teammates, and getting their perspective on the upcoming marathon. Thanks again to Amy for her hospitality.
Donations this week have come from Steve Gibbons, Somerville Firefighters Local 76, Billerica Little League, Marc and Marie Condon and Juniper Networks. Once again thank you to all that have donated.
On another note if you have been reading my blog I hope that you have also checked the blogs of my DFMC teammates that are on the right side of the page. While I have just kept you updated on my training and fundraising during these last few months a few of my teammates have left some very poignant, emotional and uplifting words to be read. If you haven't already please read them and you too will get a feel for why we are running and fundraising.
Donations this week have come from Steve Gibbons, Somerville Firefighters Local 76, Billerica Little League, Marc and Marie Condon and Juniper Networks. Once again thank you to all that have donated.
On another note if you have been reading my blog I hope that you have also checked the blogs of my DFMC teammates that are on the right side of the page. While I have just kept you updated on my training and fundraising during these last few months a few of my teammates have left some very poignant, emotional and uplifting words to be read. If you haven't already please read them and you too will get a feel for why we are running and fundraising.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Week 23 "As good as it is going to get"
The hip is feeling better and I finally got some miles under me this week. With runs of 10 miles, 5 miles and 13 miles I had a week of 28 miles. It felt good to be out there again. I am not running pain free but I think this is as good as it is going to get. With 2 weeks left I have done all that I can. I will be at the staring line and hopefully at the finish line at some point.
The Fundraising is still amazing, donations this week have come from, John and Robin Quinlan, Chuck Casella, Kate Lamoureux, Tom Murray, Christine Morgan, The Munger Family, Ron Gomes and Aidan McCarthy. I am running out of ways to thank everyone for the support I have received. But once again I thank you all that have donated. I could not have done this withput you. You all will be with me while I am out on the course. Thank You.
The Fundraising is still amazing, donations this week have come from, John and Robin Quinlan, Chuck Casella, Kate Lamoureux, Tom Murray, Christine Morgan, The Munger Family, Ron Gomes and Aidan McCarthy. I am running out of ways to thank everyone for the support I have received. But once again I thank you all that have donated. I could not have done this withput you. You all will be with me while I am out on the course. Thank You.
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